Colorado Trail Race Begins Today

There’s been a lot of excitement and chitter chatter in these parts about the USA Pro Cycling Challenge hitting Colorado later this month to be televised on NBC and the Versus Network, home of the Tour de France. Though it’s great that Colorado, not to mention Colorado Springs which will host the prologue of the race, will receive much attention during the race, there’s another race beginning today which is far more grueling, much more demanding and altogether tougher than the Pro Cycling Challenge, that race is the Colorado Trail Race. It is a bicycle race that begins at Highway 67 & Rampart Range Rd on the Front Range, runs through the most rugged of Colorado’s high country and ends near Durango. There are no aid stations, no cars or motorcycles riding nearby to aid in tire changes or other mechanical assistances. Colorado Springs locals Jon Csakany, Jesse Jakomait, Doug Johnson and former Springs resident Joey Ernst will be battling for glory amidst a field of other cyclists from across the country and a few from abroad.

Real time race tracker:

Even though you can’t watch it on television or listen to it on the radio, you can follow the racers, all of whom have GPS SPOT Tracking devices, on the map above, or HERE at the official Spot Tracker page, which also has standings for each stage. There are great features on the page that allow you to isolate individual riders and see their ride history, see different views of the terrain. You can also see the current weather at the Spot Tracker page.

For an added sense drama and excitement, keep in mind that sometimes the spot trackers don’t work/won’t refresh for many hours or will show that someone has gone way off course when they haven’t. Also keep in mind, that because the trails are not always clearly marked, that sometimes people DO go way off course and/or have to bail out because of mechanical failures or injuries.

Enjoy. It’s addictive and it’ll keep you hitting the refresh button all day.